Air-circulating device



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A. G. SUTCLIFFE ET AL AIR CIRCULATING DEVISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 22. 1928 i 5. M m mw www., J.; mw 9m, um QM, NN A SWW.. WMM QU. ww m @U Nw Nm @N um. @d (25 @M hm, @mi m ON K wh @w om www fw, WUI w NN \.f Nm j QN WON cm QN TU NN mw c om om N @N Nm www@ Nh n@ NN. o mw R my@ E SWT. .3. o o AN r L NN Jn. 1| all mw MN KN @NV @l WN Q lQN m .\|\N\ drawings, in which- `Fig. 1 is a viewl partly in top plan and/ Patented dan. l, 1929. A

NrrED STATES PATENT orifice.

.ARTHUR G. SUTCLIFFE AND JACOB C. NOVAK, JR., OF CHICAGO, IIILINOIS, ASSIGNORS TO ILG ELECTRIC VENTILATINGCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF LOUISIANA.

.AIR-CIRCIJATING DEVICE. i

Application led March 22,1928. Serial No. 263,945.

take conduit leading to the bottom of the furnace jacket, a shutter or shutters at one or both sides of the fan, and means by which, when the fan is operating, the shutter or shutters are closed to prevent short circuiting of the air, and when the fan ceases to operate, the shutter or shutters are either positively opened or permitted to open by gravity, so as to allow a natural flow of air to take place through .the conduit, the fan opening being j too much obstructed by the fan and its motor to adord an adequate natural flow of air therethrough. u .t

In some of these, devices the air blast created by the fan constitutes the motive agent for actuating the shutter closing means; but this is not always reliable and certain in its action, because the air blast from lthe fan itself lcreates a more or less vacuous condltlon in front of the shutter that has a tendency to suck the shutter open even against the action of a blast-actuated member operating to close the shutter. With a View to rendering the operation of these devices more reliable and certain, our present invention has for its main object to provide means of a wholly mechanical nature for both opening and closing the shutter, which means shall be controlled by and from the fan itself. Our invention, in one practical form in which the same may be embodied, is illustrated in the accompanying partly in horizontal section of the device,

shown as located in andcrosswise of the the shutter vanes in open position, corre.

spending to the idle condition of the 'fang the opening and closing movements of the shutter vanes;

Fig. 8 is an axial section of the governor shown in Fig. 'If'.v

Referring to the drawings, at 10 we have indicated in Fig. 1 a fragment of the usual rectangular cold air intake conduit which 1n practice leads into the vbottom of the warm air jacket of the furnace. Disposed within and crosswise of this conduit is our improved air circulating unit which, in the preferred form herein illustrated, is constructedas follows 11 designates a rectangular frame struc-` ture which may be secured to the internal walls of the conduit 10 as by angle brackets 12. 13 designates a fan supporting panel formed with a central opening 14 to accommodate the fan 15 and with forwardly direct ed flanges 13 fitting within the frame 11 and attached thereto as by screws 16. On the panel 13 is mounted the fan frame 17 carrying the. electric motor 18 on the armature shaft 19 "of which the fan 15 is mounted. In the form of the device herein illustrated, the fansupporting panel occupies approximately one longitudinal half'of the frame 11.

Pivotally mounted in the other half of the frame 11 is a group of shutter vanes 20 con`, veniently made of sheet-metal. In the vane structure herein illustrated one end portlon of the metal forming the vane is folded rear- -wardly on the body portion of the vane as shown at 20 in Figs. 1 and 6, and the free end of the folded portion is curled around and secured to a vertical pivot spindle 21, which/l latter, as best shown in Flg. 6, has upper and lower bearings in strips 22 and 23 secured to the upper and lower limbs of the frame 11. Attached to the rearwardly folded portlon 20 of each shutter vane is a rearwardly eX- tending arm 24, and the arms 24 of the several shutter vanes are flexibly connected by a llnk 25 that is'pivoted to eacharm at 26, whereby the several shutter vanes are caused to open simultaneously and close simultaneously.

Pivoted at 27 to a lug 28 on the frame 11 and` extending diametrically across the front of the fan 15 is a lever 29, the free end of which is pivotally connected by a link 30 to a lug 31 (Fig. 3) on the. inner side of the shutter vane 20 that is adjacent to the fan, the said shutter vane 20 having ay slot 2()a (Fig. 2) to permit the link 30 and the swinging end of the lever 29 to play therethrough. The shutter vanes are normally drawn to and held in closed position by a pull spring 32 anchored at one end to the lever 29 and at it-s other end to a lug 33 (Fig. 4) on o-ne of the vertical flanges 13 of the panel 13.

The fan shaft 19 is formed with an 'extension 19 beyo-nd the hub of the fan, and on this extension is mounted a ball governor mechanism, the parts of which are best shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Referring thereto, 34 designates a disc which may be convenient-ly attached by suitable screws passing through holes 34 to the -hub of the fan 15 so as to rotate with the latter. On the disc 34 are forwardly projecting arms 35, in the forward ends of which are mounted shafts 36 secured in place by nuts 37 and forming bearings for 'elbow levers, the rearwardly directed arms 38 of said levers carrying weights 39, and the inwardly directed arms 40 of said levers bearing against a circular ange 41 formed on the inner end of a tubular plunger 42 that telescopes over the shaft projection 19. Encircling that portion of the shaft projection 19 that lies between the Weights 39 is a thrust spring 43 that is footed on the disc 34 and abuts against the rear end of the tubular plunger 42 tending to force the lat-ter forwardly. The forward end of the plunger 42 is preferably tapered to a point `4.2', and this point has thrust engagement, when the fan is operating, with a wear block 44 attached to the lever 29.

The governor mechanism may bef enclosed by Ia casing 45 attached to (the disc 34 by screws 46 and provided with a central opening 47 for the passage of the tubular member 42.A

Whenthe fan is idle the spring 43 thrusts the tubular member 42 forwardly, and this latter in turn thrusts the lever 29 forwardly to the position shown in'Fig. 3, and the lever 29, through the link 30, opens the shutter vanes and holds them open, the spring 43 being considerably stronger than the shutter closing spring 32. j

When the fan starts to operate, as it acquires full speed the governor weights 39 are thrown outwardly by centrifugal action,

ythe spring 43 is compressed, the plunger 42 is retracted from engagement with lever 29, and this permits the spring 32 to act to close the shutter vanes, as shown in .Figz 1.I

It will thus be seen/that the shutter vanes are automatically closed by the power of the spring 32 as soon as the fan starts in operation; while as soon as the fan ceases to operate, the shutter vanes are at once opened through the action of the spring 43 which latter is permitted to act at this time by the idle governor. The device thus provides means of a mechanical nature for effecting the positive closing of the shutter vanes as soon as the fan begins to operate, and the positive. opening of the shutter vanes the instant the fan ceases to operate, the movement of the shutters being in no wise dependent. upon the air current delivered by the fan or upon any air conditions within the inflowI conduit.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. 1,A

which shows the relative positions of the parts when the fan is working, that the plunger 42 is retracted by the governor out of contact with the bearing block 44 of the shutter closing lever 29, thereby eliminating wear on these parts and allowing the rotor or armature of the motor to oat in an axial direction Without causing any thrust between the bearing and the shoulder on the shaft, which tends to hold the rotor or armature in a central position in the motor.

While we have shown and described a. sim ple and practical embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that detail changes in structure and arrangement may be resorted to without ldeparting from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of the advanv tages thereof.

fan in said conduit, a self-closing shutter in said conduit laterally offset from said fan, spring-actuated means holding said shutter open when the fan is idle, and means actuated by said fan for retracting said springactuated means when the fan is in operation.

3. In an air circulating device, the combination of'an air conduit. a motor-driven fa-n in said conduit, a self-,closing shutter in said conduit laterally offset from said fan, a spring-pressed plunger and means operated thereby for holding said shutter open when the fan is idle, and a governor on the shaft of said fan operative to retract said plunger when the fan is in operation.

4. In an air circulating device, the combination of an air conduit, a. motor-driven fan in said conduit, a self-closing shutter in said conduit laterally offset from said fan, a pivoted shutter opening and closing lever, a spring exerting a shutter closing act-ion on said lever, another spring exerting a shutter opening action on said lever sufficientto overcome the action of said shutter-closing spring, und means actuated by said fan to restrain the action of said shut-ter opening spring.

5. In an :tir circulating device, the coinbination of an air conduit, e motor-driven fan in said conduit, a group of connected shutter venes in said conduit laterally offset from said fan, a lever pivoted at one .end and extending across the front of said fan, a. link connecting the other end of said lever to one of said venes, a springv exerting a shutter closing actlon on sald lever, a spr1ng-pressed plunger slideble on the Shaft of sai-d fen ex-` erting a shutter opening action on said lever sufficient to overcome the aotlon of lsaid shutter-closing spring, and a governor on saidfan shaft operative to retract said plunger when the fan is in operation. 

